(Photo grabbed from Reuters video)
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka (Reuters) — Sri Lanka Navy personnel and local residents helped around 20 beached whales back out to sea on Wednesday (May 31), a day after Cyclone Mora passed over the Indian Ocean island nation.
The whales, which beached themselves repeatedly near the village of Sampur in the district of Trincomalee on the country’s northeastern coast, were pushed back into deeper waters by sailors from the nearby naval base and villagers.
Large pods of pilot whales live in the deep sea off the city of Trincomalee, which is around 260 kilometers (162 miles) from the capital Colombo. The city is a popular whale and dolphin watching spot.
It was not immediately clear why the mammals became stranded.